Talk:Mikhail Gorbachev/GA1

GA Review
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Reviewer: 3E1I5S8B9RF7 (talk · contribs) --3E1I5S8B9RF7 (talk) 17:39, 28 December 2019 (UTC)

Assessment
A great article, stable, neutral, comprehensive. I will try to review some minor issues for each section in the article.--3E1I5S8B9RF7 (talk) 17:39, 28 December 2019 (UTC)

University: 1950–1955
Gorbachev's letter requesting membership of the Communist Party - when was it written?--3E1I5S8B9RF7 (talk) 17:39, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * That will be 1950, I believe. I'll add the year to the quotebox. Midnightblueowl (talk) 12:44, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

Stavropol Komsomol: 1955–1969
The caption of the image says: "Gorbachev on a visit to East Germany in 1966". What is he visiting?--3E1I5S8B9RF7 (talk) 17:39, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * To be honest, I'm not sure. Looking at an image, it reminds me of a farm building in which livestock are kept, but I can't be sure. Midnightblueowl (talk) 12:52, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

Early years: 1985–1986
"He moved Gromyko from his role in foreign policy to that of head of state and replaced Gromyko's former role with his own ally, Eduard Shevardnadze". Clarification needed: Gromyko was moved to the head of state? And that is a lower position than his role in foreign policy? Sheverdnandze was thus appointed at which position?--3E1I5S8B9RF7 (talk) 17:39, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Head of state was formally a promotion, but it also meant that Gromyko was basically being shuffled into a largely ceremonial position with little or no impact in policy. I'll reword the sentence in question. Midnightblueowl (talk) 13:33, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

Domestic policies

 * "From April to the end of the year, Gorbachev became increasingly open in his criticism of the Soviet system, including food production, state bureaucracy, the military draft, and the large size of the prison population". Any data on the size of prison population or how it changed during his term?--3E1I5S8B9RF7 (talk) 17:39, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * It quite possibly exists somewhere but to be honest I can't recall having coming across that data in any of the texts that I have read, like Taubman's biography. Do you think it is essential at this juncture? I can certainly keep an eye out for such information in future. Midnightblueowl (talk) 13:29, 3 January 2020 (UTC)


 * "Gorbachev told Chernaev that Honecker was a "scumbag"." This is a caption in the image, but does not appear in the text itself.--3E1I5S8B9RF7 (talk) 17:39, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Yes, I thought it added an interesting perspective on that image but wasn't sure it was important enough for the main text. Do you think I should replicate the quotation by putting it into the main text? It wouldn't be hard to do, although I'm not sure it's necessary. Midnightblueowl (talk) 13:29, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

Foreign policies
"Over the course of the war, 13,000 Soviet soldiers would be killed and there was much opposition to Soviet involvement among both the public and military." Official sources claim that between 14,453 and 26,000 Soviet soldiers died in the war. A range could be added, or the figure dropped altogether. It is also unclear as to why, if the Politburo accepted his decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan in October 1985, it took all until February 1989 for the troops to do so.--3E1I5S8B9RF7 (talk) 17:39, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * I'm happy to drop the number of troops here; instead I've gone with "the Soviet Army took heavy casualties". As for why the Soviet Army took so long to leave, I'm not actually sure of the specifics; Taubman doesn't give a reason at the page I've cited here. Midnightblueowl (talk) 13:26, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

Domestic reforms
"Economic problems remained: by the late 1980s there were still widespread shortages of basic goods, rising inflation, and declining living standards." Any clarification on what basic goods were meant?--3E1I5S8B9RF7 (talk) 17:39, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * I believe it constituted various foodstuffs, toilet paper, that sort of thing, but I'm not so sure that I'd be willing to add that into the article itself just yet. Midnightblueowl (talk) 13:19, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

The nationality question and the Eastern Bloc

 * "In 1987, Crimean Tatars protested in Moscow to demand resettlement in Crimea, the area from which they had been deported on Stalin's orders in 1944. Gorbachev ordered a commission, headed by Gromyko, to examine their situation." Their story should be concluded, by telling what eventually happened with the status of the Crimean Tatars.--3E1I5S8B9RF7 (talk) 17:39, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * I have added the following sentence: "Gromyko's report opposed calls for assisting Tatar resettlement in Crimea." Midnightblueowl (talk) 13:51, 3 January 2020 (UTC)
 * This still leaves their story unfinished. Because the Crimean Tatars were shortly afterwards permitted to return to Crimea.--3E1I5S8B9RF7 (talk) 13:10, 4 January 2020 (UTC)


 * "In 1989 he visited East Germany for the fortieth anniversary of its founding;[339] shortly after, in November, the East German government allowed its citizens to cross the Berlin Wall, a decision Gorbachev praised" Why was it not written that the Berlin Wall fell that year?--3E1I5S8B9RF7 (talk) 17:39, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Well, to some extent it already is. The East German government's decision that people would be permitted to cross the wall was 'the fall', in many respects. But I do get your point; I'll add some more detail here about the physical demolition of the wall. Midnightblueowl (talk) 13:40, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

German reunification and the Iraq War

 * "In October 1990, Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize; he was flattered but acknowledged "mixed feelings" about the accolade.[370] Polls indicated that 90% of Soviet citizens disapproved of the award." Any explanation as to why they disapproved of the award?--3E1I5S8B9RF7 (talk) 17:39, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * I've added the following explanation to the end of the sentence: ", which was widely seen as a Western and anti-Soviet accolade" Midnightblueowl (talk) 13:15, 3 January 2020 (UTC)


 * "Other countries were more forthcoming; West Germany had given the Soviets DM60 billion by mid-1991." Link Deutsche Mark.--3E1I5S8B9RF7 (talk) 17:39, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Added! Midnightblueowl (talk) 13:11, 3 January 2020 (UTC)


 * "Later that month, Bush visited Moscow, where he and Gorbachev signed the START I treaty after ten years of negotiation." A brief description of what Start I is would be helpful.--3E1I5S8B9RF7 (talk) 17:39, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Also added. Midnightblueowl (talk) 13:13, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

Orders, decorations, monuments, and honours
Awards and honours are mentioned in the section, but nothing about any monument. I suggest you remove the word "monuments" from the section, if you cannot find any.--3E1I5S8B9RF7 (talk) 13:10, 4 January 2020 (UTC)
 * Good point! I'll remove "monuments" here. Midnightblueowl (talk) 20:12, 6 January 2020 (UTC)

Conclusion
I think the article now meets the GA criteria. I am promoting it, accordingly.--3E1I5S8B9RF7 (talk) 15:48, 7 January 2020 (UTC)

Many thanks for taking the time to read through the article and offer your thoughts, 3E1I5S8B9RF7. It is appreciated. Midnightblueowl (talk) 13:53, 3 January 2020 (UTC)